On Monday, Judge Victor Marrero sided with Apple Inc., dismissing a complaint about false representations made in connection with its Powerbeats Pro wireless headphones. According to the Southern District of New York opinion, the lawsuit failed to persuade the court that Apple made false or misleading representations about the product’s battery life.
The decision recounted how a New Yorker filed suit against the company in January 2022 on behalf of himself and putative classes of Powerbeats purchasers from New York and Michigan, Montana, Rhode Island, Georgia, North Dakota, Virginia, South Dakota, and Oklahoma. The complaint accused Apple of overstating the headphones’ charging capabilities.
In particular, the plaintiff said that though Apple markets Powerbeats as having a battery life of “up to 9 hours of listening time” and “24 hours with the Powerbeats charging case,” one of the earbuds is typically defective. In particular, the complaint pointed to charging or charge holding issues speculated to occur due to earbud corrosion from user perspiration.
The complaint claimed that the plaintiff and others overpaid for their $150 headphones, and stated ten claims for relief under state consumer protection statutes, state and federal warranty statutes, and for breach of contract.
In this week’s opinion Judge Marrero first deferred ruling on Apple’s contention that the court could not exercise specific jurisdiction over the claims of the putative non-New York class because the claims bore no nexus to Apple’s activities in New York.
Apple’s failure to state a claim argument targeted the substance of the alleged misrepresentations, asserting that the plaintiff pointed to no actionable statements. Judge Marrero agreed based on the complaints contentions, finding that Apple neither promised Powerbeats would be defect-free nor made representations guaranteeing that the product would maintain its charge equally and consistently.
Without the underlying “writing” or marketing materials containing the alleged representations, the court said it could not determine whether the plaintiff “misquoted or misleadingly excerpted Apple’s language, or even where this alleged language exists.” Though Judge Marrero rejected the plausibility of the claims, the court permitted the plaintiff to amend his complaint by October 14.
The plaintiff is represented by Sheehan & Associates P.C., the same counsel representing a Texas woman in a suit against Apple over the waterproofing of one of its smartwatch models, as well as dozens of other advertising cases. Apple is represented by McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
